I would like to respond to the April 6 letter regarding safety issues at the new library site (“Keep library in a safe place”).

I’m a 30-year resident of Renton. I work in an office that is one block from the transit center next to Renton High School; we can hear the daily announcements from inside the building. My husband and I also live in a very nice neighborhood in Kennydale.

I have to say that we have not had any safety issues at our office in the nine years we’ve owned it, nor in my husband’s previous two offices downtown. I walk, go to restaurants, shop in the downtown and have never felt unsafe. As an over-60, somewhat vulnerable person, this is remarkable.  The high school kids hang out in the downtown but they are much more interested in each other than in me. We also use the transit station and parking garage on occasion and I’ve never been threatened or felt afraid.  I’m no more afraid there than I am at the current library.

On the other hand, in our lovely, tucked-away neighborhood in Kennydale we have had several burglaries. This is fairly recent, within a couple years or less. My neighbors and I are feeling less safe, which we never did before. We notice strange cars and keep a vigilant watch. Yet, our neighborhood would look supremely safe to anyone not actually living there.

From this, my personal experience, I believe it is more perception than fact that the new library site is less safe than the current site, which has had its share of crime.  There may be other valid reasons for opposing the new site, but my or my young grandchildren’s safety isn’t one of them.

Laura Clawson

Renton